Good footwear needs to be comfortable, durable and has to serve its basic purpose – and all that at the affordable price. Polyurethane enables designers to fulfil all these objectives.
Polyurethane is a light and very hard-wearing material. It is a perfect fit for durable soles with excellent long-lasting mechanical characteristics. Polyurethane soles are practical and water-resistant.
In the shoemaking trade, we find Polyurethane in numerous types of footwear. Although Polyurethane is mainly used in sport and trekking shoes and boots, it can also be easily applied in shoes and stylish business shoe soles as well as in high-end protection footwear.
Polyurethane foam is predominantly used in seats, head restraints, dashboards, steering wheel, etc. Polyurethane characteristics help to reduce fatigue and stress which are frequently related to lengthy driving trips.
Due to its durability and lightness in combination with its strength, Polyurethane is not only an ideal choice for the lining, but also for other interior surfaces of a car, since its insulation features provide a good protection against the engine heat and noise.
Since Polyurethane is very strong and light, its low mass can decrease the kerb weight, resulting in lower fuel consumption and better environmental efficiency.
Polyurethane foam is an insulation material which is globally used mainly in refrigerators and freezers. Insulation efficiency of polyurethane foams is a key characteristic to retain low food temperature during processing, storage and distribution to the consumer. Without Polyurethane-insulated cooling, approximately 50 % of globally produced food would get spoiled which would cause a great impact on our everyday life.
Polyurethane is an ideal material to insulate refrigerating appliances and has plenty of advantages, such as:
Already a small quantity of Polyurethane can provide low thermal conductivity. Polyurethane foams have a long service life. Refrigerators can consume only up to 30% of the whole electric power in a household. Due to the introduction of Polyurethane in refrigerators, the current models with the ++ designation are much as 60% more efficient compared to refrigerators from 15 years ago.
Great parts of our buildings lose heat produced by heating systems due to poor insulation. This energy warms the soil instead of our houses, money is wasted and our dependence on foreign power supply increases.
Polyurethane is best used in our buildings as an insulation material. Polyurethane is regarded as an acceptable, durable and safe way to decrease CO2 emissions that cause global warming. In practice, good insulation preserves the interior temperature during cold days, and keeps the heat outside in warm periods.
Polyurethane insulation is found in:
There are many advantages of Polyurethane use in buildings:
A building has a longer service life due to the durability of Polyurethane.
Rigid Polyurethane insulation plates are light, strong, moisture-proof, and easy to install.
Polyurethane insulation plates and other types of insulation foam can retain their energy efficiency throughout the entire service life of a building.
Compared to other insulation materials, Polyurethane takes up little space and thus enables architects to increase the applicability of rooms.
Hard Polyurethane foam (PUR FOAM) is especially versatile and efficient in upgrading older buildings.
Contemporary houses and offices would be considerably less comfortable without Polyurethane. Polyurethane foams are soft and provide good support and durability while retaining their shape. They are regarded as an excellent material to fill up seat upholstery and mattresses. Their versatility makes it possible for designers to shape various forms in creating new products.
Polyurethane is also used to manufacture memory foams that adjust to the body shape and assure a good night's sleep. Memory foam is frequently used in hospitals where it helps to prevent bedsores in patients bedridden for longer periods of time.
Numerous contemporary vehicle, floor, walls, bridge and road coatings also contain Polyurethane which offers a good and efficient protection of the exposed surfaces and makes them look better and last longer.
The most prominent characteristics of Polyurethane coatings are their durability, resistance against corrosion and resistance against the elements – making them suitable for coatings of all kind of surfaces. They can be used on various surfaces, such as concrete constructions, bridges, highway infrastructures, steel, wood, etc.
Polyurethane offers such versatility that it is also found in various forms of glues. It can bind various kinds of materials, such as wood, rubber, cardboard or glass. Polyurethane adhesives are mainly used in construction, packaging and furniture industries, where the most important characteristics are strength and durability.
Thanks to its adhesive characteristics, Polyurethane can be usefully applied in the production of new applications, developed from discarded and recycled materials. Used car tyres can be used in children's playgrounds and sport facilities, for example.
Polyurethane characteristics have opened new possibilities of combining various types of materials. Polyurethane adhesives are used in the production of high-quality wardrobe plates, working surfaces and kitchen floors.
Polyurethane elastomers have a very broad range of application, mainly in the field of engineering, where sustainability, wear and tear resistance as well as chemical and oil resistance matter. The material is used for roller skate wheels, trolleys and printing machine rollers.
Polyurethane is very resistant against the elements, acids and moisture and as such suitable for sealants.
